Malibu Marathon Opens Arms to Runners Shut Out of NY Marathon

Marathon runners who were shut out of the New York Marathon by the devastation of Superstorm Sandy are invited to run in the next big marathon on the calendar, at Malibu next weekend.

Forever Runners, a Malibu-based group that hosts both full- and half- marathons each fall, said it would offer NYC runners a discount and contribute 25 percent of their Malibu entry fees to the AmeriCares Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.

"This is an opportunity for the running community to band together," said organizer Jennifer Calloway in a statement. "Malibu extends a special invitation to all the athletes that still want to compete, and our thoughts and condolences to the families and communities still picking up the pieces."

Disappointed runners from New York have already registered for the Malibu race in the past few days, she said. About 40,000 marathoners had been scheduled to run from Staten Island to Manhattan until the race there was cancelled in the face of overwhelming opposition from the public and weary relief workers.

NYC Marathon runners were directed to http://www.malibuintmarathon.com/indexen.htm and to use the code "Malibu4NYC" to register with the discount and donation.

Forever Runners is a group of five Malibu marathoners who have organized the 26-mile race through the strawberry fields of Camarillo past Point Mugu and down Pacific Coast Highway to the Zuma Beach entrance. This year it is starting a "SUPathlon," a seven-mile run with a six-mile stand-up paddle in the ocean off Trancas.